Child Labor ● Child Labor: the use of children in industry or business work. Child labor reached new extremes during the

Industrial Revolution. Children often worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little money. Children were useful as laborers because their size allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines where adults couldn’t fit, children were easier to manage and control and perhaps most importantly, children could be paid less than adults. Child laborers often worked to help support their families, but were forced to skip an education.

Primary source #1—The Bitter Cry of the Children by John Spargo,

“Think of what it means to be a trap boy at ten years of age (a trap boy is a child who watches over the door of a mine for hours and opens it whenever someone is to leave or come in). It means to sit alone in a dark mine passage hour after hour, with no human soul near; to see no living creature except the mules as they pass with their loads, or a rat or two seeking to share one’s meal; to stand in water or mud that covers the ankles…to work for fourteen hours—waiting—opening and shutting a door—then waiting again—for sixty cents… Some factories are known as “kindergartens” on account of the large number of small children employed in them. It is by no means a rare occurrence for children in these factories to faint or to fall asleep over their work… In more than one canning factory in New York State, I have seen children of six and seven years of age working at two o’ clock in the morning… The coal is hard, and accidents to the hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers, are common among the boys. Sometimes there is a worse accident: a terrified shriek is heard, and a boy is mangled and torn in the machinery, or disappears in the chute to be picked out later smothered 34 and dead. Clouds of dust fill the breakers and are inhaled by the boys, laying the foundations for asthma.”

John Spargo. The Bitter Cry of the Children. (New York: The McMillan Company., 1906)

Primary source #2—The Bitter Cry of the Children by John Spargo Chapter III:

“The Working Child”

“In this boasted (rich) land of freedom there are bonded baby slaves, And the busy world goes by and does not heed (notice). They are driven to the mill (factory),

just to glut and overfill (to give someone too much) Bursting (filling) coffers (boxes) of the mighty monarch (powerful king), Greed.

When they perish (die) we are told it is God’s will, Oh, the roaring of the mill, of the mill!”

John Spargo. The Bitter Cry of the Children. (New York: The McMillan Company., 1906)

Primary source #3—Lewis Hine’s photos of child labor in America, 1908-1912

Newsies(very young children who would sell newspapers as early as 5am)

Newsboy asleep on stairs with papers. Jersey City, New Jersey

A small newsie on a Saturday afternoon. St. Louis, Missouri.

Young cigar makers(very young children who would sell newspapers as early as 5am)

Young cigar makers in Engelhardt & Co. Three boys looked under 14. Youngsters all smoke. Tampa, Fla.

Young factory workers(very young children who worked in factories using dangerous machines)

Young miners(very young children who worked in coal mines. Working in underground mines had many dangers including suffocation, gas

poisoning, roof collapse, rock burst, outbursts, and gas explosions.)

Miners: Breaker boys. Smallest is Angelo Ross. Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Miners: View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. The dust was so dense at times as to obscure the view. This

dust penetrated the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs. A kind of slave-driver sometimes stands over the boys, prodding or kicking them into obedience. South Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Reform Child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution. Children often worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little money. Children were useful as laborers because their size allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines where adults couldn’t fit, children were easier to manage and control and perhaps most importantly, children could be paid less than adults. Child laborers often worked to help support their families, but were forced to skip an education.

Nineteenth century (1800s) reformers and labor organizers sought to restrict child labor and improve working conditions. The educational reformers of the mid-nineteenth century convinced many among the native-born population that primary school education was a necessity for both personal fulfillment and the advancement of the nation. This led several states to establish minimal requirements for school attendance. The National Child Labor Committee used of photography to dramatize the poor conditions of children at work, pamphlets, leaflets, and lobbying (to influence a politician in making a law).

Laws restricting child labor were passed in many states as part of the progressive reform movement of this period. The federal government also created child labor laws, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938. These laws were enacted to ensure that when young people work, the work is safe and does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities.

Children protesting

14-17 year olds need working papers from their high schools to work. They are separated into two categories: 14-15 and 16-17. For 14 and 15 year olds, the papers are blue because they are not allowed to work in factories in the state of New York. To get working papers, you have to go to the nurse and ask for an application. For 14-15 year olds, the maximum number of hours a week is 18, whereas for 16-17 year olds the maximum is 28.

John SpargoAMERICAN MUCKRAKER

John Spargo was a socialist. He was elected president of the Barry Trades and Labor Council and became a member of the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). On 27th February 1900, Spargo and the SDF met with several other Labor groups and trade union leaders to establish a distinct Labor group in Parliament. The Conference established a Labor Representation Committee (LRC).

In 1901, Spargo became one of the founding members of the Socialist Party of America. In 1905, Spargo published book about child labor called, “The Bitter Cry of Children”. It uncovered the ins-and-outs of child labor and about the horrible thing that were being done to children. This was followed by a book about child nutrition known as, “Underfed School Children”. He is now considered one of the most important people in the socialist movement.

Over the next few years Spargo became a popular figure in the Socialist Party of America. He helped with women’s suffrage and African American civil rights, however, he wanted to restrict immigration. On the outbreak of the First World War most socialists in the United States didn't want conflict. They argued that America should remain neutral. After the USA declared war on the Central Powers in 1917, Spargo argued for a pro-war policy. But when he was told no at a conference of the Socialist Party of America, he resigned from the party.